It was bloody, and it was brilliant. And it was Georges St-Pierre back to his
best, or arguably even better, in a thrilling return to the Octagon after a
19-month absence through injury. The Canadian took the spoils on a unanimous
points decision 50-45, twice, and 49-46 on the judges’ cards.

Montreal hummed to the return of its conquering hero. GSP had the perfect foil, in facing a grimly-determined Carlos Condit, to prove that he is a super-champion. He did that. And some.

The burning question remains whether St-Pierre will sign on the dotted line to face Anderson Silva, who was Octagonside, enthusiastically applauding every twist and turn in the title fight. St-Pierre remains enigmatically uncommitted, refusing to discuss the details of any proposed Silva superfight at the UFC 154 post-fight press conference.

Yet he did hint that he may consider it if Silva could boil down to the welterweight limit.

A catchweight of around 178lbs has been suggested, but St-Pierre said: “The thing about fighting at 177, I show up weighing 177 and then on the night of the fight I'm 185. He’s maybe 205 or 210 pounds. I don't know how big he is, maybe 225, 230 now.

“He's a big guy. I don't know how much he can come down. Not a long time ago, he used to fight in Japan at 168, which is smaller than me.”

Given the success Condit had in striking with St-Pierre, the fight with Silva looks fraught with difficulty for the Canadian, whose weapon would have to be to get the fight to the ground. And then just keep it there.

Clearly, UFC President Dana White wants the fight to happen. In his eyes, it’s a win-win. The buck would not stop printing for the match-up.

“The thing is that all of the stuff that needs to be done behind the scenes is what we do, this is the business that we’re in. We’ll get all that done, it’s just the matter of sitting down and seeing what’s right for everybody.

“I want Anderson Silva to love this fight and want it. I want Georges to love this fight and want it, because they’re both gonna make a s***load of money. That’s a no-brainer. I want them to want it for the right reasons. This is more of a legacy fight. This is the pound-for-pound fight.”

What was even more impressive from St-Pierre in this five-rounder against Condit was his willingness to be less cautious, mixing his striking game fluently with his go-to skills as the greatest takedown artist in MMA. He completed all six takedowns he attempted, and each time, although Condit fought valiantly from the bottom, the pattern of dominance was set. There were moments in this title fight when he was under pressure, but it made for an even greater spectacle.

Determination, superb fitness and Octagon control as he pushed the fight, elevated St-Pierre back to that pedestal he sits upon.

Condit’s best opportunities were when he pushed forward. He had a good third round, and a decent fifth round, but GSP was a level above.

Condit had St-Pierre hurt in the second, flooring the champion with a leg kick, and with the Canadian felled, went to work to try to finish him. But the champion showed his heart, and head, were intact, as he reversed the position and ended the round on top.

Powered by those insanely muscled thighs, the Canadian can count this performance as one of his best, given the long lay-off, and in what he delivered in pure entertainment and all-round skill levels.

Although dominant, it was one of the fights of the year without question, given what was on the line here.

The claret coloured proceedings after a vicious elbow from St-Pierre opened up a cut on Condit’s hairline as the klaxon sounded to signal the end of the first round. Condit was unable to prevent St-Pierre’s takedown attempts, and though he was able to put the champion in trouble in the third round, he could not finish the job.

“I thought I had it,” Condit admitted, referring to the third round when he sent St-Pierre sprawling to the canvas with a head kick.

“He was still coherent, and I was trying to put some leather on him and finish off the job,” he added. “You know, maybe I’ll get him next time.”

Condit admitted that he expected to have more success against St-Pierre.

“His top game was very, very good. He was able to hold me down better than I expected, and I expected to create more scrambles,” Condit said.

But he fully expects to bounce back from what was the sixth loss of his UFC career.

“I left in in here. I need to go back to the drawing board and shore up some stuff,” Condit said.

St-Pierre, who was fighting for the first time in over a year after recovering from a knee injury, hailed Condit after the match.

“Carlos Condit gave me my toughest fight. He’s an amazing martial artist, and this loss will make him a better martial artist. He’s gonna come back stronger,” St-Pierre said.

“It’s a great compliment from such a great champion,” Condit said, “But I’m still disappointed.”

In the co-main event, Johnny Hendricks knocked Martin Kampman out inside a minute to stake his claim for a welterweight title challenge, literally begging the UFC matchmaker Joe Silva and UFC president Dana White to give him an opportunity of fighting for the belt. Hendricks long left hand from the southpaw stance sent Kampman flying horizontally across the Octagon with shocking power.

Whether the American could land that devastatingly heavy hand of his on the champion remains to be seen. There are one of two others who may get the first look in – notably Nick Diaz, who will return from a suspension for testing positive for marijuana – in February.

Elsewhere on the main card, Rafael Dos Anjos, the lightweight from Brazilian, showed tremendous footwork and fitness to outmatch Mark Bocek; Tom Lawlor did enough to gain a thoroughly deserved points victory over Francis Carmont, but ludicrously lost on the judges’ cards on a split points decision. Notably, even the home crowd, initially supporting their man Carmont, booed the decision.

The other notable victory on the main card was from Pablo Garza, who continued his impressive run with a unanimous decision victory over fellow featherweight Mark Hominick. Garza looks like a title contender within eighteen months if he continues in this vein, although he needs to shore up his defence more.

British welterweight John Maguire lost a close points decision to Matt Riddle – the American making it clear that he wishes to fight Dan Hardy next - but this was a night which will linger long in the memory for the sheer brilliance of St-Pierre. Mesmerisingly brilliant.

GSP-Silva? The UFC appears to have the power and the Midas Touch when it comes to these things. It looks slated for 2013.